RI Early Learning Council Gets $500K (and More to Come!)
The RI Early Learning Council was recently awarded a $500,000 federal grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The Council also has the opportunity to apply for a supplemental award, expected to provide an additional $164,000 for the Council's work over the next three years. The supplemental award is the result of a re-allocation of funds previously designated for states that did not apply for a Council grant.
The $500,000 in federal funds will support the Council's work in the following areas:
- $150,000 for the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Scholarship model ($50,000/year for 3 years). This will help Rhode Island establish a national model program to support the existing early childhood workforce to attain college degrees, improve compensation, and reduce turnover. Establishing T.E.A.C.H. in Rhode Island has been a priority since at least 2005 and is one of the goals of Successful Start that has not yet been accomplished.
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- $180,000 over three years for focused projects that support the work of the Council. The Early Learning Council Work Group will design the specific projects, including scope and cost, in keeping with the overall goals and strategic plan of the Early Learning Council. Funds would support 6 projects @ approx. $30,000 each. Project costs would vary and could range from $5K - $50K.
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- Additional funds will be used for costs associated with management of the Council and Work Group, including professional facilitation, convening costs, administration, and tracking needs and resources as well as supporting the work of the NGA Ready States Project, specifically the coordination of the Early Childhood Data Team.
Congratulations to the Council on their award!
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RIASPA & PASA Offer Full Schedule of PD this Fall
 They will be offering two workshops almost every Friday this fall in an effort to connect program providers to the resources they need to focus on quality improvement. A similar menu is forthcoming for the Winter/Spring of 2011.
Series-based trainings include a Youth Worker Certificate program, a Supervision series, and a Methods series. Workshops include An Introduction to the RIPQA, Multicultural Team Management, and many others.
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Dept. of Health Plans Health Consultant Training for Fall
The meeting will be held on September 10, 2:00 - 3:30pm, RI Department of Administration, Conference Room A, One Capotil Hill, Providence.
The group will provide an update on:
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where they are in planning,
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what materials they are planning to provide, and
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how they plan to structure the sessions.
The group is interested in getting feeback on the planned training, including specific topics such as: convenient days and times, topics, materials, etc.
If you have questions, please call Blythe Berger at (401) 222-5949. |
Resources for Families: Back to School, Transitions
Check Out These New Resources from NAEYC
Now available - Message in Backpack and the online parent article "Everyday Steps to Reading and Writing". Message in a Backpack is a compendium of 14 tip sheets that can be printed and distrubuted to parents. They contain ideas for activities parents can do with their children at home. The latest installment, released this Summer, is titled "Building Fine Motor Skills". Message in a Backpack tip sheets are available, free in both English and Spanish.
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New Video on Early Childhood Transition Now AvailableWhat do families need to know to help young children transition smoothly from one early childhood program or service to another? Today, many families of young children use and move between different types of early childhood services - like Head Start, private child care, public preschool, or kindergarten. Moving between and among these various programs is often referred to as "transition". This 8-minute video provides an overview of the desirable outcomes of transition, research identifying effective transition practices, as well as the legal requirements of early childhood transition. |
Research Roundup: Head Start, Brains, Learning Teams
New Fact Sheets on Head Start and Early Head Start Programs in 2009
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) has released two new fact sheets providing data on children enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start programs in 2009. Some key facts include:
- In 2009, Head Start served more than 900,000 children and their families.
- 12 percent of the children in Head Start programs had a disability.
- Spanish was the primary home language for 24 percent of children in Head Start programs.
- Early Head Start (EHS) served more than 83,000 children under age 3 and about 9,600 pregnant women.
- 65 percent of families served by EHS included at least one working parent, and 22 percent included at least one parent in school or job training.
- By the end of the program year, 97 percent of EHS children had a medical home for ongoing care.
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The Foundations of Lifelong Health Are Built in Early Childhood
The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, in collaboration with the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, recently published a new report entitled The Foundations of Lifelong Health Are Built in Early Childhood (July 2010). The report discusses how positive early experiences strengthen developing biological systems, providing the foundation for good health, sturdy brain architecture and enhanced learning capacities. Click here to download the full report and/or the summary of essential findings.
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Learning Teams and the Future of Teaching
A review of research by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future recommends learning teams as the best approach for inducting new teachers into collaborative learning environments to improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement. Tom Carroll and Hanna Doerr, president and program manager of the group, respectively write in this Education Week opinion article that having shared values and goals, as well as taking collective responsibility for the success of colleagues and students, are among the top six factors that make learning teams effective. |
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... Community Postings ...
Events...
Mark Your Calendars for an Informational Evening About Early Childhood Programming
Save The Bay offers environmental education programming for your students ages 3-5 years old. Come see what it's all about while enjoying light snacks and beverages, plus an opportunity to win a FREE program! Choose between two dates and locations:
- Monday, October 4, 2010, 5- 7pm, Save The Bay Center, Providence
- Wednesday, October 6, 5-7pm, Exploration Center & Aquarium, Newport
- - - - - - - - - - Gesell Institute of Human Development, a New Haven based non-profit on the Yale campus, offers Leadership in Early Childhood Education Conference October 15, 2010. Register today to hear from world-renowned pediatricians T. Berry Brazelton, MD and Joshua D. Sparrow, MD, and Head Start founder Ed Zigler, PhD. Also featured are Jacqueline Jones, Sr. Advisor to the Secretary of Education for Early Learning; Alliance for Childhood's Executive Director, Joan Almon; Columbia University's Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan; and United States Representative, the Honorable Rosa DeLauro. This national conference has been designed to address the important issues of early childhood education leadership. Click here for more information.
Discounts...
NAEYC Online Store
NAEYC members save 20% off all resources on the online store. Visit the online store to begin taking advantage of your member savings today!
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Lakeshore Learning Store
Back to School Sale. Save 20% July 5 - September 5. Visit www.lakeshorelearning.com or the Cranston store at 1400 Oaklawn Ave., (401) 463-8800.
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Submit your news, announcements, and items of interest. Items received by the 10th of the month will be included in that month's publication. |
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The mission of RIAEYC is to support professionals in their work by promoting quality education and the healthy development of children birth through eight. | |
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Upcoming Events
Labor Day
Monday, Sept. 6
RIAEYC office closed
Quonset O Club
N. Kingstown, RI
Sept. 20, 2:30pm
State House
Providence, RI
DHS Child Care Community Exchange
Sept. 28, 1:30pm
United Way of RI
Providence, RI
Rhodes on the Pawtuxet
Cranston, RI |
To view all
meetings & events, visit
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Not a member of NAEYC & RIAEYC?
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